Meta advances Artificial Intelligence and Reality Labs – strong growth also at Facebook

Meta Platforms looks back on a successful quarter marked by significant advancements in product development and business strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg reports an active user base of over 3.2 billion people who use at least one of the Meta apps daily. Notably, WhatsApp and Instagram are experiencing strong growth, while a new focus on teenage accounts has improved safety on Instagram. Zuckerberg emphasizes the increasing importance of Meta AI and Llama, whose innovations are strategically advancing the company's productivity and monetization. In particular, the integration of AI into core activities has led to significant increases in usage time on Facebook and Instagram. More than 500 million people use Meta AI monthly, and improvements in the advertising system have provided advertisers with a significant advantage. CFO Susan Li highlights that Meta achieved a revenue of $40.6 billion in the third quarter, while expenses rose by 14%, mainly due to increasing infrastructure costs. The company is heavily investing in technical infrastructure to capitalize on future growth opportunities. Highlights of the innovation strategy include the release of Llama 3.2, which strengthens Meta's role in open AI models and lays the foundation for Llama 4. Reality Labs, a strategic focus, has gained impressive market share with the new Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The newly introduced Quest 3S mixed-reality headsets are already showing promising sales figures. Meta continues to emphasize its investments in AI and plans to significantly increase these in the coming year to maximize both short-term and long-term returns. While the company is focusing on new platforms, it remains committed to balancing consumer experience and future revenue sources. The forecasts for the fourth quarter leave management optimistic that the current growth trend will continue towards 2025.